Growing up in the Shire
by MorganBaggins
Summary: A collection of fun and touching events Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin experienced together growing up in the shire.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The story is mine, while the characters (which I must say, are the best part) belong to JRR Tolkien. Hope you enjoy ^_^

Frodo blinked at the sunlight as it crept in through his nice round window. He yawned groggily before sitting up. He sat there peacefully for a moment, and smile played across his face before he quickly jumped up and hurried to get ready.

Today was a special day. Or rather, tomorrow was a special day, for it was his, as well as his uncle Bilbo's, birthday. He was going to be 24 years old.

He was, as children often are, excited about the upcoming day. His uncle had planned the most wonderful party last year, and had assured him to expect nothing less this one. It didn't actually matter to Frodo, who would choose to spend time with the same small group of friends rather a hundred hobbits or twenty showed up, but he was excited never the less.

He was still thinking of what a wonderful day lay ahead as he walked into the kitchen to find his uncle Bilbo making tea.

"Hello Frodo, my lad." Said Bilbo cheerfully as he pulled out a chair for his nephew, "Come have a seat!"

"Thank you, Uncle Bilbo." Frodo replied, obliging.

The old man smiled at him before handing him a cup of tea and his breakfast. "I have a lot to do today, as you very well know." He said, putting away the kettle. "I'll be in my study. Try not to bother me too much, unless it's important."

Frodo nodded and his uncle patted him on the head before leaving the kitchen.

"Oh, and another thing!" He called peeking his head out from an adjacent room, "Asking for help finding a book is not important! Not today at least."

Frodo laughed and waved back at Bilbo in acknowledgement. He'd bugged the man too many times the past few days, well years actually, asking for help finding a book about dragons, or wizards, or elves or the like.

Frodo finished his breakfast quickly and was out the door in nearly no time. _Where to today?_ He wondered as he walked down the path that led to and, in this case, from, Bag End.

Just as he was settling on one of his favorite trees no too far off, he noticed the gardener's son Samwise hard at work.

Frodo smiled, as the lad happened to be a friend of his. Though he was almost twice Sam's age, the two of them had managed to play many exciting games together.

"Hello Sam!" He called startling the poor hobbit so much that he leaped in to the air, dropping his tools. He stood staring for a moment with a shocked expression on his face until he looked up and caught sight of Frodo.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Frodo, Sir!" Sam said relaxing, his face turning into a smile. He began to wave cheerfully.

Frodo returned the wave and walked over to him, trying hard to keep from laughing at the startled child. "What are all these for?" He asked, bending over to help his friend pick up the mess where the scattered gardening tools lay.

"Why, they're for gardenin' Mr. Frodo!" Sam chuckled. "Don't you know gardenin' tools when you sees 'em?"

Frodo laughed. "Apparently not." He handed Sam the last of the supplies that lay on the ground. He frowned.

"What's wrong, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, suddenly worried.

Frodo shook his head. "Nothing. It's just a shame you have to work today, is all. I was hoping we could continue our adventure." His eyes sparkled and Sam felt a growing sense of excitement.

"You mean the one with Mr. Bilbo and the dwarves?" Sam asked excitedly.

"Exactly." Frodo said seriously. Both he and Sam had heard Bilbo tell the tale countless of times, and Frodo often recreated it in his own mind, imagining himself at Bilbo's side, or sometimes even the old hobbit himself. Only last week he had let Sam in on the game, and they had been playing it ever since. "We must still escape the forest of Mirkwood."

Sam nodded eagerly. "I wish I could, sir." He said honestly. "But how 'bout later? I reckon me Gaffer won't be happy if I go off playin' before I'm a finished here."

"Well we couldn't have that." Frodo said looking thoughtful. He put on a show of deep thinking for the younger hobbit, to the desired effect of laughter, even snapping his fingers and shouting, "I got it!" when he came to his conclusion. "How about I help? Then you should be finished in no time!"

"Help, Mr. Frodo, sir?" Sam asked confused. "Oh, no, sir. Thank ye very much for offerin' but I couldn't let ye do that."

He returned to trimming the flowers and Frodo sighed. "Well, then I'll just sit here until you are finished. We can plan out the rest of our game."

Sam gave him a smile before turning back to the flowers.

"You can be one of the dwarves." Frodo pronounced, "And I'll be Bilbo. You fell asleep and were captured by horrible spiders, and it's up to me to rescue you."

"Oooh!" Sam cried, "I don't much like this part."

"Neither do I, Sam, but we can't get out until we face the spiders." Frodo said. "Now, once you finish with that Bush, go lie over there and imagine you are tangled up in a spider web. It'll only take a moment."

"Why do I 'ave to be the one in the web?" Sam grumbled, but did as he was told.

Frodo frowned. "Because that's how the story goes. Perhaps one day we can switch, and you can rescue me from the spiders."

Sam smiled at the thought then shook his head. "No, I don't think I'd be much good at that. You're 'lots better at fightin' them off."

Frodo returned his smile. "Thank you. How about once I rescue you, I teach you to fend them off yourself?"

"Oh, would you, sir?" Sam asked delighted.

His friend nodded. "Now, lie there and don't move until I rescue you. You're tied up and surrounded by spiders, don't forget." He reminded his friend.

They continued to act out Mr. Bilbo's grand adventure for the next hour or so, and they had just arrived at laketown, when they were interrupted by a carriage that seemed to be coming up the path to Bag End.

"Now who could that be?" Frodo wondered aloud. At the same moment, Sam realized he hadn't gotten back to trimming the flowers. Frodo permitted him to finish his work, and followed the carriage curiously up to his front door.

It was probably some distant relative come to ask questions about the up coming party, Frodo thought to himself. They came by fairly often now a days, and were rarely pleasant company.

He was just debating whether or not to leave the likely relatives to Bilbo and run off, when the cart came to a stop and two middle aged gentle hobbits stepped out. They picked up a young lad and sat him down on the ground before them.

Frodo's face broke into a grin as he recognized the little one as his cousin, Meriadoc Brandybuck.

"Frodo!" The young lads eyes widened as he caught sight of his friend. He started jumping up and down. "Frodo, Frodo!"

"It's good to see you again too!" Frodo replied unable to hold back laughter. He embraced his cousin warmly before greeting his parents.

Esmeralda and Saradoc Brandybuck smiled at the two boys.

"It's delightful to see you again, Frodo." Esmeralda said honestly, "Merry has been asking about you all summer."

Merry grinned sheepishly and Frodo playfully punched his shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure you boy's will find some trouble to cause sooner or later." Master Brandybuck laughed. "Now, we'd like to go and see your Uncle."

**A/N:** This was my way of passing the time while having the flu (or something very much like it) in a dorm room :( not fun. There is one more chapter I've already started on, and after that, if there is interest, I will try to continue once I am (hopefully) fully recovered.


	2. Chapter 2

"Frodo!" Merry shouted joyfully as he smacked his waking cousin softly in the face with a rather large pillow. "Happy Birthday!"

With one hand, Frodo removed the pillow from Merry. "Thank you." He scowled at his cousin as he sat up. "Though you could have found a nicer way of waking me."

Merry laughed, pulling at the strap of his suspenders, which were becoming too small for his rapidly growing body.

Frodo blinked, frowning as he realized Merry was fully dressed and ready for the day. Behind him, thin strands of sunlight were trickling in through the window. "What time is it?"

"Breakfast!" Merry answered, clapping his hands together. "Bilbo sent me to wake you. Now, hurry up!"

"All right, all right." Frodo stifled a yawn. "You go ahead. Let me get ready and I'll be there in half a moment."

"You better! Otherwise there might not be any food left!" Merry winked and took off running down the hall.

Shaking his head, Frodo smiled to himself, throwing back his covers and scrambling out of bed.

Not five minutes had passed before Frodo strode into the kitchen to find his relatives already seated and eating. It was not customary in the home of hobbits to wait until everyone was present before easting, especially if those missing were only children.

Frodo didn't mind. There were plenty of eggs and cheeses and sausages spread out across the table and he saw Bilbo had left him a plate. The only thing missing was his uncle.

"Where is Bilbo?" he asked. His absence was rather unusual since they had company. Then again, Bilbo himself was a rather unusual hobbit.

Master Brandybuck smiled. "He had some business to attend to. It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure you'll see a lot of him at the party this afternoon. Now, go ahead and eat your breakfast. Esmeralda and I are nearly finished."

The hobbit happily obliged and, before the sun had fully risen, he and Merry could be seen running along the many hills of Hobbiton.

Frodo didn't realize how tired he was until he sat for the first time in almost two hours. "What do you suppose Bilbo's up too?"

"I don't know." Merry joined him on the warm grass. "Something exciting most likely. Maybe there is another dragon!"

Frodo laughed heartily and shook his head, his dark hair gleaming in the sunlight. "I very much doubt that. But I do agree it is likely exciting."

"Well how about we find out!" Merry leapt to his feet.

"How?" Frodo leaned forward, surprised at his younger cousins sudden enthusiasm.

"We follow him." Merry's eyes glistened as he pointed to a figure wandering in the distance.

Squinting, Frodo pulled his hand up to shield the sun off his face. "Good eyes you have, Merry!" The figure was indeed Bilbo. Frodo felt some regret at not having recognized his uncle before.

"Come on!" Merry said anxiously. "It doesn't matter how good an idea it was, if we don't start now, we'll loose him!"

His regret consumed by curiosity and excitement, Frodo stood and once again shook his head in disbelief. "You'll make a good spy one day. I'll have to remember that if we ever run into trouble."

"Don't worry," Merry grinned back. "I'll remind you."

The two of them hurried along down the hill as quickly and quietly as they could manage. When they came within a hundred yards of the unsuspecting hobbit, they slowed to an even pace and remained as silent as possible.

Nearly five minutes passed before Bilbo interrupted his usual walking habit, which included whistling and humming to himself rather loudly. At this time, however, the noises stopped and a few seconds later the hobbit came to a halt.

Frodo and Merry exchanged curious glances as they waited. Merry was just beginning to fidget and Frodo was starting to worry when they heard the sound of a carriage approaching. It came around the corner and into plain view before stopping directly in front of Bilbo.

The elder hobbit smiled and greeted the driver, but his expression quickly turned serious and his voice lowered to a whisper. Frodo and Merry, now more curious than ever, crept forward stealthily.

"Dangerous, you say?" Bilbo raised his voice in surprise, loud enough that the eavesdroppers could hear.

"Aye." Came a response from inside the carriage.

"Well, we can't have that now, can we? I always knew those two were trouble. It seems the only choice we have is to send them to the trolls." Bilbo said, his voice growing steadily louder.

"That seems to be the case." The stranger agreed.

"It's a pity, really. Frodo and Merry were such a pleasure to have around. If only they hadn't befriended those goblins."

At that moment, Merry gasped, and Frodo, unable to contain himself, cried out in astonishment "We have not!"

Bilbo turned around with a grin. "Oh!" His face took on an expression of mock surprise. "I guess I was mistaken. They say they haven't befriended any goblins after all."

"Does that mean you won't send us to the trolls?" The concern was clear in Merry's voice, though he tried his best to hide it.

Frodo laughed. "Of course he won't. He just said that because he knew we were following him. Isn't that right, Uncle?"

"Right you are, lad," chuckled Bilbo. "You might want to perfect your spying skills before you go on any real adventures. And don't go using them on dear old Uncle Bilbo again."

Blushing, Frodo looked down at his feet while Merry giggled.

"What were you _really _doing?" Frodo asked shortly, trying to change the subject.

"Nothing that was worth spying on, that's for sure," he replied with a wink. "I'd have taken you along if you'd asked. But you'd have had to get up earlier, and we know the likelihood of that was dismal." Shoving one hand in his pocket, he placed the other on his nephew's shoulder and continued before the young hobbit could protest, "Frodo, I would like to introduce you to my old friend, Paladin Took."

"Oh!" Merry exclaimed at once, standing on his toes and trying to get a good look at the passengers inside.

Paladin laughed and leaned into view. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Frodo Baggins. We've meet before, but you were too young to remember, no doubt. And as for you young Merriadoc- you've grown since our last visit as well, though that wasn't nearly as long ago.

"Right now," Bilbo said as the introductions were completed, "Master Took and his family will be staying the night with us. They had intended to travel with the Brandybucks, but there youngest son was giving them some trouble it would seem. How is the lad now?"

"He's fine," Paladin responded proudly. "He's sleeping, but I'm sure he'll be up sooner or later. Then you'll see the real Took in him."

"Can't wait for that," Bilbo said with a hint of sarcasm that only Frodo picked up on. "Very well now, I am going to accompany the Tooks back to the house, and then I have a few very normal boring tasks to attend to before the party, nothing worth following, if you didn't get my meaning."

Frodo nodded. "We understand, Bilbo."

"Right. Well, run along, both of you. Be sure to back in time to wash up before the party. I don't want you looking like you've been raised by a mad man." Bilbo chuckled to himself, for he knew over half The Shire thought him just that, though he was clearly just as sane as any other hobbit, if not saner. He shook his head and stepped up into the carriage as it began to pull away.

"I guess we should head back." Frodo sighed, turning to his cousin. "That is, if we want to make it back in time for elevenses."

Frodo took the spark in Merry's eyes as a sign of agreement.

"I'm starving!" Merry exclaimed as they began their journey back towards Bag End. "I hope you have apples!"

"I'm sure there will be some at the party." Frodo replied. "So you won't have long to wait either way."

Merry did not indeed have long to wait, as it turned out there were baskets full of apples set out for the party. He snatched one after elevenses, which the hobbits had arrived only barely in time for, and another as he was waiting for Frodo to finish changing.

"Hurry up!" Merry called, leaning against the wall outside Frodo's door. "My sisters can dress faster than you."

There came a sound of exasperation from within Frodo's room and the door opened shortly after. Frodo stood there clothed in a most formal fashion, his pale blue vest lined with silver buttons. He frowned.

"What's wrong, Frodo?" Merry asked, taking the last bite of his apple and tossing the core out the window.

"I feel rather odd," Frodo admitted. "I don't think I enjoy fancy clothes much. I don't think I enjoy any clothes that you can't climb a tree in, for that matter."

Merry laughed. "Who says you can't climb trees in dress clothes? I've done it before. I've also been swimming in them. It's a good thing I'm still growing, otherwise Mother would have had a fit over having to buy me so many."

Frodo joined in his laughter, forgetting for the moment how awkward it felt wearing such stiff expensive clothes.

"Merry! Frodo!" A voice called from the kitchen. The boys recognized it as Merry's mother's. "It's time to go!"

"Coming!" Merry shouted back. He turned to Frodo, unable to contain the smile from spreading across his face. "Well then, Frodo, it's time we get to your party."

**AN: So I found this when I was clearing off my computer today. Sorry it's been so long! I've completely forgotten where I was going with it, but let me know if you want me to continue. I came up with some ideas this morning so there will (hopefully) be more soon!**


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